Bet tracking system for gaming tables

A method for automatically rating betting activity of a casino patron at a gaming table, where the casino patron is identified by a machine-readable card, the method comprising the steps of:

• associating a card reader with a player position at the gaming table;
• providing a data base including casino patron and gaming table information in a computer system coupled to the card reader;
• retrieving information on the casino patron and the gaming table from the data base responsive to activation by the machine-readable card of a card reader at the gaming table;
• and
• determining a rating for the casino patron from the retrieved gaming table information.

A gaming table for tracking betting activity of casino patrons through machine-readable cards issued to the casino patrons and a computer system including data bases of casino patrons and gaming table information, the gaming table comprising:

• a playing surface;
• a card reader for reading data from the machine-readable cards, the card reader having an input for accepting a machine-readable card and an output for accessing the data read from the machine-readable card, and being associated with a location at the playing surface to define a playing position at the gaming table;
• and
• data coupling means electrically connected to the output of the card reader, for coupling data read from a machine-readable card to the computer system in order to retrieve casino patron and gaming table information from the computer system.